Comments on: Guardian 25,403 – Pasqualehttp://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/08/17/guardian-25403-pasquale/
Never knowingly undersolved.Tue, 31 Mar 2015 21:14:59 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1By: Wolfiehttp://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/08/17/guardian-25403-pasquale/#comment-167641
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 09:20:15 +0000http://fifteensquared.net/?p=33114#comment-167641Thanks Scarpia for answering Davy’s query, which appeared after I went to bed. As a footnote to the above discussions of ‘sui generis’ it is interesting to see that the expression is enjoying something of a revival in the Guardian/Observer. There were only twelve appearances in 2010 and the previous top score was twenty (in 2007 and 2008). If the current rate continues I predict at least thirty appearances of ‘sui generis’ before the end of 2011. (Sorry Gaufrid!)
]]>By: Davyhttp://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/08/17/guardian-25403-pasquale/#comment-167638
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:24:01 +0000http://fifteensquared.net/?p=33114#comment-167638Thanks scarpia #32,

I didn’t realise that the search encompassed the text of newspaper articles, so I’ve learned something very useful. I thought that only the home site was searched but there again I’ve never used ‘search’ but I will now.
Sorry Gaufrid if this is off topic.

]]>By: rfbhttp://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/08/17/guardian-25403-pasquale/#comment-167631
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:45:30 +0000http://fifteensquared.net/?p=33114#comment-167631Brendan@34: I think we all agree that crosswords should not be composed *primarily* of very obscure words. But one or two (especially if they can be guessed & verified with a dictionary) seems OK to me.
]]>By: Brendan (not that one)http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/08/17/guardian-25403-pasquale/#comment-167625
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:34:12 +0000http://fifteensquared.net/?p=33114#comment-167625I must agree with those who previously criticised “tent” and “sui generis”. Personally I’ve never met either of them, although I am fairly well read and old!

Yet again I find the Don a little “over contrived” in his cluing and (sorry to say) not particularly enjoyable!

“Who is to decide which words are unknown?” is not really the question we should be asking.

I believe that all the solutions to a weekly cryptic should be widely known to a literate and fairly well read public.

The skill of the setter is to give us difficult and entertaining clues to “easy” solutions!

In my opinion using obscure words, whether they are in the dictionary or not, seems a little lazy! (or dare I say elitist! Yes, I obviously did dare!!)

An entertaining puzzle which I found quite difficult but arrived at the correct solution…eventually. The clues were spot on as is always the case with Pasquale.

All hail caretman for his brilliant comment #28. I agree with him one hundred percent and couldn’t have put it better myself.

Re comment #27. How do you know Wolfie that ‘sui generis’ has been used twenty-two times in the Guardian/Observer this year ???.

]]>By: RCWhitinghttp://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/08/17/guardian-25403-pasquale/#comment-167617
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:36:45 +0000http://fifteensquared.net/?p=33114#comment-167617I apologise, caretman, for the second consecutive day I can just endorse your comment in #28 rather than composing my own.
]]>By: caretmanhttp://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/08/17/guardian-25403-pasquale/#comment-167607
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:04:35 +0000http://fifteensquared.net/?p=33114#comment-167607With regard to the SUI GENERIS discussion, there’s Latin and there’s Latin. ‘Et cetera’ is Latin, yet no one would argue if it were the solution to a clue since it’s such a common expression. So one must take into account how common ‘sui generis’ is in ordinary writing in English. I’ve encountered it at least as often as I’ve encountered ‘boffin’ (just to take an example of a word from a piece of wordplay from a puzzle yesterday) so the two seem equally permissible to me.

We all bring to solving crosswords different experiences and knowledge. I have a background in mathematics and science, others in literature, others in arts, etc. What is a commonplace word or expression to some may mystify others. ‘Sinusoidal’, mentioned above, is an example. I don’t object to the lights taken from ecclesiastic sources or Elizabethan poets or cricket, even though my knowledge of those areas is extremely limited. I take it as a challenge to broaden my knowledge and to see if I can decipher clues from wordplay and crossing letters alone.

So if there are common fields of knowledge in which a word or expression is commonly used by writers in that area using English, then I think it’s fair game for an English crossword puzzle. And I may not solve it, or may have to use pattern matching software, or have to come here to find out how it worked, but to me that just meant that I didn’t succeed with that challenge and I’ll try to do the next one.

So thanks, Pasquale, for this challenge and the efforts you and other setters make to please as many people as you do with your puzzles.